Does Dormant Sliver mean Slivers can no longer attack?

Question

Dormant Sliver
- {2}{G}{U}
- Creature -- Sliver
- 2/2.
- All Sliver creatures have defender.
- All Slivers have "When this permanent enters the battlefield, draw a card."

It would seem if all Slivers have defender then they could no longer attack and would be like a wall. Or am I missing something?

This card, like Plague Sliver, falls into the category of "cards which may be effective against a Sliver deck, as well as in one". Though it must be said that you don't want to cast Dormant Sliver, let your opponent's Sliver deck draw a ton of cards, and then glumly watch as the Dormant is removed when the moment to alpha strike is right... — thesunneversets, Jan 1, 2012 at 9:34
Yeah, a better use is probably just in buildup-happy Sliver decks. "All your guys cantrip but you'll need a sacrifice outlet or some removal before you can alpha strike" is actually a pretty good deal. — Alex P, Jan 2, 2012 at 0:59
Note that "like a wall" is incorrect. Except for earlier editions of the game, "Wall" is just a creature type, and has no special rules associated with it. A wall can attack unless it has the "defender" keyword. All older wall-type cards were given errata to have "defender." — GendoIkari, Oct 13, 2014 at 16:24
@AlexP, of course, there are a number of slivers which grant a self-sacrifice ability, and one that gives a self-bounce ability, so that's not a particularly onerous requirement. — Brian S, Oct 13, 2014 at 20:22

Ian Pugsley · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-01 00:30:00Z

12

Yes (you aren't missing anything). With Dormant Sliver in play, no slivers will be able to attack.

As per the comp. rules:

702.3b A creature with defender can't attack.

answered Jan 1, 2012 at 0:30

Ian Pugsley

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